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"Katakuri! You can't beat me, even with your future-seeing Observation Haki!"
Katakuri remained silent, watching Atlas with an emotionless gaze.
Atlas continued, unfazed, "Even if you could fight me for days on end, you would be the one to tire out first. Besides… I'm not a Devil Fruit user!"
Katakuri didn't question it. A man with such an aura wouldn't bother with lies. He also knew that he had rushed out here too hastily.
With that female swordmaster from the Marines watching like a hawk, he would surely be the one to lose in the end.
"Come on! One final, life-or-death blow!" Katakuri ripped off his tattered clothes, revealing his muscular torso.
He instantly generated a large amount of mochi, infusing it with Armament Haki!
"Let's do it!" Atlas took a deep breath, pushing his Observation Haki to its limits. His muscles tensed, and his Armament Haki grew denser.
He knew that if Katakuri wanted to escape, he couldn't stop him. The gap in their strength wasn't that significant.
"Blast Fist: Armament!"
"Zan-giri Mochi!"
The high-temperature explosion clashed violently with the bizarre, club-like fist.
A terrifying shockwave battered their bodies, threatening to create a vacuum in the surrounding air.
Both were thrown back violently, and Katakuri used the force of the impact to retreat into the distance.
Atlas didn't pursue, merely forcing his body to stabilize mid-air as he quietly watched Katakuri's retreating figure…
"How did it go, little Kanos?" Back on the ship, Gion looked the disheveled Atlas up and down, smiling with a hand covering her mouth.
"Ah, I'm fine. He's pretty strong," Atlas said, casually dusting himself off.
He tore off the tattered remnants of his clothes and said to his adjutant nearby, "Bolton, could you please get me a new set of clothes? Thanks!"
"Yes, sir! There's no need to be so polite, Commodore Atlas!" Bolton replied, thrilled.
In the few short days he had followed Atlas, he had become completely captivated by his strength.
--Totto Land--
The New World, the Totto Land archipelago. It was a fantastical sea, filled with the sweet aroma of desserts, flowing rivers of cream, and giant ships that sang eerie songs!
This was the main ship of the Big Mom Pirates—the Queen Mama Chanter!
It was surrounded by the unique ships of her officers, and on the outermost perimeter were the numbered tart ships.
Together, these fleets formed the mighty pirate crew of a New World Emperor. Aboard the Chanter, a pregnant Big Mom sat on her throne.
Her already grotesque face was particularly grim. To her left sat a silent Katakuri, and to her right was Perospero, holding a giant lollipop.
The atmosphere in the hall was tense. Perospero didn't even dare to lick his lollipop, afraid that one wrong move would draw Big Mom's wrath, which could very well cost him his life.
They had received terrifying news: Big Mom's fourth son, their brother, Charlotte Oven, was dead!
It was almost laughable.
The Big Mom Pirates were a powerful crew built on the core of family and blood ties, yet Big Mom's children had never felt an ounce of motherly love from her—only the harshness of a tyrant.
"Mamamama! Are you telling me a Marine killed that brat Oven? Katakuri!" Big Mom's eyes, lined with purple eyeshadow, were now as wide as saucers.
She leaned her obese face close to Katakuri, so close that he could see every bloodshot vein in her eyes. She looked like a demon straight from hell.
Katakuri remained silent, meeting Big Mom's gaze without fear, his stern expression revealing his mood.
As the sibling who cared most deeply for the others, his grief was second to none. But the tyrant before him was not grieving; she merely felt that she had lost face.
"Mamamama! What a useless fool, making me lose face like this! Katakuri, why didn't you bring that Marine back? I'm sorry, Mama. That Marine is strong. I was unable to avenge Oven."
Perospero was shocked. Although he was the eldest of Big Mom's children, Katakuri was undoubtedly the strongest—the hailed masterpiece of the Charlotte Family.
This was the first time he had ever heard the man whose back had never touched the ground say such a thing!
"Mamamama! You're a useless fool, too! Are you prepared to be killed by me?" Big Mom laughed with rage, her thick face becoming even more terrifying.
Her gaping mouth looked like the legendary entrance to hell!
"Mama, please calm down!" Perospero broke out in a cold sweat, trying to placate her.
"We can't let Katakuri die! We'll have plenty of chances to kill that Marine later and restore your honor!"
If Katakuri were to die, not only would the crew's strength be greatly diminished, but the other siblings would also become disloyal.
Katakuri was the brother they respected most. Furthermore, Perospero's own bond with Katakuri was very deep; they had been through life-and-death situations together in the crew's early days.
"Mamamama! I'll spare you this time. Make sure you bring me that Marine's head, Katakuri!" Hearing this, Big Mom stopped channeling her Devil Fruit power.
Though she was capricious, as a cunning Pirate Queen, she could control her emotions at critical moments.
After all, no one who becomes an Emperor of the Sea is a simpleton. Even Kaido of the Beasts, who seemed like the biggest brute, was a master of schemes.
"Yes, Mama!"
--New World, G-5 Base.--
"Hahahaha! Atlas, my boy, you did it! That old hag Big Mom must be going crazy right now." Needless to say, just hearing that voice, you knew it was Garp.
He was excitedly slapping Atlas on the shoulder.
Meanwhile, Atlas, with a look of resignation, was reporting the mission's details to Vice Admiral Tsuru, who sat at her desk.
As the news spread, dark undercurrents began to stir throughout the New World…
In the Pirate Alliance territory, the sky was oppressively dark. The island was covered in swamps and plagued by mosquitoes.
"Hey! Blood Scythe, why do you always pick such gloomy places?" said a dark-skinned, five-meter-tall giant.
"Yeah, what a crude fellow," chimed in a bald man in a mismatched gentleman's suit.
"I should have found us a sunny beach."
"Hmph-heh-hahaha! Yermak! Klaus! You two are so much trouble! I happen to enjoy this feeling of mosquitoes freely sucking blood…" said a sinister-looking man with an aquiline nose.
This was Blood Scythe Rackham.
"Alright, stop arguing," Francis interjected. "Let's get down to business. Have you seen the papers?"
"You mean about how a Marine rookie killed Oven?" Klaus asked. "And how even Katakuri couldn't handle him?"
"Heeheeheehee! Our chance has come!" Rackham stood up excitedly. "If we defeat just one of the Emperors, we can finally become the undisputed rulers of the sea!"
Francis watched him with a strange expression, suspecting they might share the same goal.
"Blood Scythe, it's only because our four crews are allied that we can even stand against them," the gentlemanly Yermak questioned. "And even then, we're just barely surviving."
"How ignorant!" Rackham retorted.
"Can't you see the Marines' objective? First, the Whitebeard Pirates, and now the Big Mom Pirates. The Marines are determined to take them down! We have no path of retreat!"
"Whitebeard is the World's Strongest Man. How can we possibly provoke that slumbering lion?" Klaus countered, well aware of the power gap.
"The Big Mom Pirates," Francis, who had been silent, spoke up, dropping a bombshell.
"Reason?" Yermak asked.
"According to my intelligence, that old hag Big Mom is currently pregnant. This must be severely limiting her strength," Francis explained.
"Furthermore, her son Oven is dead, and most of her other children are still too young and weak."
"This is their most vulnerable moment. Kaido's Wano is too difficult to attack, and the Whitebeard pirates are at full strength."
He continued, his words making everyone's heart pound. "Once we take down the Big Mom Pirates, we can take their place!"
"And I've heard Big Mom has a Road Poneglyph. The great treasure of the Pirate King won't be out of reach!"
After a moment of silence, Yermak sneered, "And then get rounded up by the Marines and spend the rest of our days rotting in Impel Down?"
"Don't worry," Francis said smoothly.
"The Marines are probably tied up with Whitebeard; they won't have time for us. Besides, since when did we become so timid? This is our last chance!"
He was right. They were pirates, and pirates were known to be gamblers. This time, they were betting their lives.
The risk was immense, but the reward was a firm place in the New World.
"Heeheeheehee! I agree!" Rackham was the first to accept.
"Damn it! I'm betting on this!" Klaus yelled.
"…I have no problem with it either…" Yermak conceded.
"Excellent," Francis said. "Now, let's discuss our plan of attack!"
Aboard the Brutal Bear, the flagship of the Brutal Bear Pirates, Francis sat alone in a dark room. He held a normal Den Den Mushi and a white, anti-wiretapping one.
…Buru buru buru…
"Hey! Francis, how are things? I'm still keeping that Calamity spot open for you!" As the call connected, the Den Den Mushi sprouted two horns.
"Don't worry, it's progressing smoothly, Lord Kaido," Francis replied calmly.
"Good…" Kacha. The call ended. Francis wasn't annoyed. He picked up the other Den Den Mushi.
Buru buru buru~~
"How is it?"
"Sir, everything is going smoothly. Thanks to that Marine rookie, I'll be able to infiltrate the Beasts Pirates once this is over…"
"Excellent. Don't waste the Zoan-type Bear-Bear Fruit, Ancient Model, that we gave you."
"Once your undercover mission is complete, you can proceed directly to CP0. Don't expose yourself. You know the consequences of failure…"
"Yes, sir!" Clack… The sound of the Den Den Mushi hanging up was heard once more.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach top 100)
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